I'm not emotionally prepare for finale.

Lena was nervous to spend time with Kara's sister and sister's girlfriend. After all, she never met the family of anyone she dated or slept with. And while she'd met Alex that morning, it had been a brief encounter. It hadn't been enough time for Alex to form an opinion on her character. She just hoped that once the red head had the opportunity that she'd like her at least a little bit.

But as nervous as she was, Kara was a wreck.

After finally pulling themselves from the bed again, Kara had texted Alex to invite her and Kelly over for dinner. The moment they agreed, Kara's whole demeanor changed. Suddenly the ease was gone from her shoulders, and she began to look over her house with a frown. Then she was running around straightening up the place, seeming to need something to do with her nervous energy.

Lena offered to help, but Kara profusely refused. She insisted Lena let her do the work, so the brunette sat herself on the couch to watch a cooking show while Kara flittered around cleaning. But Lena felt bad just sitting there while Kara worked. And not to mention Kara running around muttering to herself about needing better cleaning habits was distracting, to say the least.

Eventually Lena just turned off the show and forced Kara to let her help. The blonde was reluctant at first, but the actress didn't give her much of a choice when she picked up a rag and started helping Kara dust. Kara protested for all of a second until Lena shot her a look that caused her to shut her mouth abruptly. Instead, she instructed her Alexa device to play music, and the two of them set to work.

By mid-afternoon Kara's house was nearly spotless, and Lena couldn't quite understand the odd sense of accomplishment she felt as she looked over the rental home. She'd never been much of a cleaner. Sure, she did some light cleaning here and there, but her entire life, she'd had a maid. First it was the people under her mother's employ while she lived in the familial home. But even once she moved into her penthouse, she had sought out a housekeeper. Mostly because her crazy filming schedule prevented her from having the time to clean herself. But, also, partially because she had the money to pay someone to do it, so why bother doing it on her own?

Yet cleaning with Kara had actually been kind of fun. The blonde sang along to the music from her Alexa, even danced a little as she walked around with a broom sweeping her living room. Lena found it adorable, and even caught herself bopping along to the music with Kara. She never thought she could enjoy something so domestic and—at times—tedious, especially when the home she was cleaning wasn't even her own. Yet doing it with Kara had made it not only bearable, but something she wouldn't mind doing again.

When they were done, it was early afternoon. They still had a few hours before Kelly and Alex were expected, and Kara's nervous energy seemed to have dissipated along with the mess, so they settled into Kara's bed to watch a something on the laptop.

"Thanks for helping me clean," Kara said, glancing sideways at Lena as her computer booted up. "I hate cleaning, and it's usually an all-day event for me." She sighed, pausing to logon to her PC and pull up Netflix. "I just don't want to clean on my off time, ya know? I spend all day on set cleaning, it's the last thing I want to do on the weekends."

"Which is totally fair," Lena told her, patting her shoulder. "Have you ever thought of getting a housekeeper?"

Kara shook her head, looking to the brunette with a small frown. "I don't know anyone I'd trust enough to allow into my house, or anyone who has a trustworthy housekeeper. So it's not like I can get any recommendations."

"I have an amazing housekeeper," Lena offered.

"Well…" Kara paused, biting her lip. Her cheeks went a soft shade of pink. "It's also that I don't want to pay anyone to clean. I don't know how much they cost, but that's an added expense." She sighed, shaking her head again. "I've only just started living on my own, and I don't want to start spending like crazy before I've figured out how much I need to budget each month."

Lena was tempted to offer paying for her housekeeper Lyra—a young woman who'd been under her employ for the past few years—to also do Kara's house. But she knew it was something Kara wouldn't feel comfortable accepting. The woman had a hard enough time letting Lena pay for dinner, so a weekly service was probably way out of the question.

"Fair enough," Lena said instead, placing a hand on Kara's knee. "So, what do you want to watch?" she asked, quickly changing the subject.

Kara looked to Lena, her eyes lighting up. "Have you seen Stranger Things?"

"Of course I have," Lena shot back, smiling. "Didn't a new season just come out a few weeks ago?"

The blonde nodded enthusiastically. "Wanna start it?"

"Absolutely."

They got through two episodes before deciding to get ready for Alex and Kelly's arrival. Kara loaned Lena a pair of skinny jeans that happened to fit quite well and a loose, gray tank top. The brunette was grateful, especially since she'd brought literally no clothes to Kara's for the weekend. In her defense, though, she normally didn't need clothes at Kara's house.

The blonde swept up her hair into a ponytail and donned jean shorts and a black t-shirt with a rainbow flag. Underneath the flag were the words, "Kiss whoever the fuck you want." Lena took one look at it and snorted.

"And who do you want to kiss?" she asked coyly, quirking an eyebrow.

"Hmm, I don't know," Kara said nonchalantly, slipping her finger through the belt loop of the jeans she'd loaned Lena and pulling the actress closer. "Maybe you."

"Maybe me?" Lena asked, draping her arms over Kara's shoulders and narrowing her eyes playfully at the slightly taller woman.

Kara chuckled lightly. "Definitely you."

"Much better," Lena murmured before pressing her lips to Kara's.

A knock at the door caused them to break apart, the blonde growling with frustration.

"Alex has the worst timing in the world, I swear," Kara muttered, stepping away from Lena. She sighed, looking to the brunette apprehensively. "This is it. Ready?"

Lena took a deep breath and nodded. "Let's do this."

The pair went over to the door, each bracing themselves before Kara put her hand on the knob and pulled it open. Alex and Kelly stood there, each holding a bottle of wine—Alex a red, and Kelly a white. They scanned Lena and Kara for a moment, taking them in.

"Well, they're fully clothed," Alex commented, and Kara was about to question her sister's comment when the red head turned to Kelly and said, "I guess I owe you five bucks, babe."

Kara glared at her sister for a few moments before starting to push the door closed again. At the last second Lena caught it, shooting Kara a pointed look as she pulled the door open fully. Kara sighed but stood back to let them in.

"Come on in," she said, almost reluctantly.

Kelly smiled and instantly went up to Lena, extending the hand that wasn't holding her bottle of wine. "Hi, I'm Kelly. It's so nice to meet you."

"Lena, and likewise," the brunette responded, shaking Kelly's hand. "Thank you for bringing wine."

"We didn't know if you liked white or red," Alex explained, gesturing to the bottles. "So we brought both."

"Well, thankfully I'm a Luthor, so as long as it's alcoholic, I'm usually not too picky," Lena said with a smirk as Kara shut the door.

"I prefer white," the blonde said, extending her hand towards the bottle Kelly was holding.

"Let's open this one first, then," Kelly said, placing the bottle in Kara's extended hand.

"I like red," Alex said, hoisting up the bottle she was holding for emphasis. "So I'm gonna go with her and open this one, too."

"In that case, I'll take a glass of red, too, babe," Kelly told her partner, giving her a parting kiss on the cheek.

Kara looked to Lena. "Which would you prefer?"

"I'll take white," Lena told her.

"Okay," Kara said, smiling a little. Then she was unsure of whether or not she should kiss Lena on the cheek before she left as well. But then the moment seemed to pass, and she began to feel awkward, so instead she just said lamely, "Be right back."

The Danvers sisters made their way to the back of the house, each carrying their bottles. Kara noted happily that the bottle of white was cold, which was great, because she preferred her wines chilled.

"Your clothes fit Lena well," Alex commented once they'd gotten into the kitchen. Kara shot her a look as she opened the drawer to rummage for a corkscrew, but Alex simply smirked and asked, "What, did she not bring any clothes of her own because she didn't need any?"

"Alex, remind me," Kara said, producing the corkscrew and narrowing her eyes at her sister, "that Friday the Thirteenth where Jason kills someone with a corkscrew, was that the third or fourth movie in the series?"

"You know it was four," Alex said, snatching the kitchen utensil from the blonde's hand and using it to start opening her bottle. "It's my favorite, and I've made you watch it at least twelve times."

"Which is eleven too many," Kara said, going into her kitchen cabinet and taking out a couple of wine glasses.

Alex gasped as she pulled the cork from the bottle of wine. "How dare you?"

When the two returned to the living room they were bickering. Lena was surprised, raising her eyebrows at the back and forth. Yet Kelly just seemed amused and shook her head as Alex handed her a glass of wine and sat beside her on the couch. Kara handed Lena one as well and perched herself on the arm of the couch.

"You're delusional," Kara said to Alex over Lena's head and took a sip of her wine. Hers was in a mug that had the DC comics character The Flash on it.

"I'm right is what I am," Alex shot back, also taking a sip of wine. Hers was in a plastic cup that had the Hogwarts logo on it.

"What are you two going on about?" Kelly asked, swirling the wine in her glass as she inspected it.

Lena noted that she, like Kelly, had an actual wine glass. She wondered for a moment if Kara had only bought two, or if there were more to the set. Personally, she had at least six wine glasses on hand in her apartment. Not that she needed them. She never entertained that many people. She just really liked to drink wine.

"Alex thinks Friday the Thirteenth: Part IV is better than the original," Kara said crossly, and from the way she said it and the fact they were apparently fighting, Lena surmised that the blonde disagreed.

Kelly let out a loud groan. "This again?"

"They've had this fight before?" Lena asked, turning to Kelly with eyebrows raised.

"Many times," Kelly affirmed, rolling her eyes. "And they always try to drag me into it."

"And she never picks a side," Alex said, glancing sideways at her girlfriend.

"I don't like horror movies!" Kelly exclaimed.

"You don't have to like them to have an opinion," Alex told her.

"My opinion is they both suck."

Kara blew out a breath and turned to Lena. "Do you have an opinion on the matter?"

Lena was silent for a moment, aware of all eyes in the room suddenly on her. "I—uh, have never actually seen any of them."

Alex and Kara exchanged a look of hope and excitement. They both fixed Lena was overly sweet smiles.

"Do you want to watch them?" Kara asked, batting her eyes cutely.

"And help us decide who's right?" Alex said, leaning across Kelly and poking Lena in the shoulder. "You'll be our new best friend."

Lena laughed a little, a warm feeling coming over her at Alex's jesting. Even though she'd just met the woman, there was something familiar about Alex that put Lena at ease. Maybe it was because of her relation to Kara and the similarities she saw between the two of them. But also, something about Alex was authentic.

She also liked Kelly. They'd made idle chit chat while Alex and Kara were getting the wine prepared, and she was really sweet. The last thing she wanted to do was make Kelly sit through two movies she'd already admitted to hating.

"Maybe Kara and I can just watch them together later, and I can decide and get back to you," Lena offered. "If Kelly doesn't like horror movies, I don't want to make her sit through that."

"Actually, if this settles this once and for all, then I'm surprisingly not opposed," Kelly said with a shrug. "Alex has already made me sit through the fourth several times, and we've had this debate before, so I've seen the first a few times, too." She sighed as she settled back into the couch cushions. "I've gotten pretty good at figuring out when to close my eyes."

The Danvers sisters' eyes fell on Lena again, and the brunette nodded. "Alright, I guess we could watch them."

"Yes!" Kara pumped her fist in the air and went over to her bookcase, scanning her DVDs until she found the movie.

"But we're going straight from one to four," Lena observed. "Does it matter that I haven't seen two or three?"

"Not really," Alex said, shaking her head. "There's a couple of things we'll have to explain, but it's not that difficult to understand."

"Yeah, the plot lines after the first become very thin and riddled with illogical situations," Kara said, smirking at Alex as she turned on her PlayStation and put the DVD into the tray.

"Shut up," Alex said, picking up one of the decorative pillows from the couch and throwing it at her sister.

Kara easily deflected it, but she growled and scowled at her sister. "Don't," she wined. "You'll make me spill my wine."

"Yeah, and I'd hate for you to break your mug, like you did with the other two wine glasses," Alex shot back.

Lena snorted. So that had been the fate of them.

"Okay, children," Kelly said pointedly, though the corners of her mouth twitched, a smile threatening to break through. "Can we get on with this, please?"

They watched the first movie, Kelly closing her eyes for the majority of it. Lena enjoyed it for the most part, though she kept expecting a big guy in a hockey mask to show up. When he didn't, she was extremely confused, though she kept her comments to herself until the end.

"I thought Jason was the killer of this series?" the brunette asked innocently.

"Ha!" Alex shot triumphantly at Kara.

"Shh." Kara hushed her sister with a frown before turning to Lena and smiling sweetly. "He is the face of the franchise, yes, but he is not the killer of the first one." She paused to shoot her sister a frown. "That's why it's the best one. Because a crazy woman running around a summer camp killing kids for revenge can actually happen, which is way scarier— in my opinion."

"So, if Jason died in the lake as a kid, how does he become that huge guy with the mask?" Lena asked.

"They explain it in the second one," Alex said immediately.

"Barely!" Kara proclaimed. "They tell a legend around a campfire about Jason somehow surviving, and instead of finding his mother or literally anyone to tell them he's alive, he just lives in the woods and becomes feral. Then he sees his mother get killed and snaps, going out on a killing spree for revenge." She shook her head. "He doesn't even get his hockey mask until the third movie. And they kill him at the end of every movie, yet he somehow keeps coming back. It's so dumb. None of it makes any sense."

"It's not supposed to make sense!" Alex said, color rising in her cheeks. "Horror movies constantly defy logic."

"Not all of them," Kara said defensively. "And saying a movie isn't supposed to make sense isn't a good argument."

"Yes, good points, both of you," Kelly said dismissively, looking at her phone. "I have an unrelated question, though." She held up her phone and showed a menu. "Can we please order Vietnamese food? Because I really want bubble tea."

The moment Kelly mentioned bubble tea, everyone wanted one. So, they took their turns figuring out their orders, Kelly calling it in and offering to go pick it up. Lena gave her the cash for it, Kelly's eyes widening when Lena handed over a hundred dollars easily and told her to leave the change as a tip. She was also going to stop by her and Alex's apartment to pick up the DVD of the fourth movie because Kara didn't own it since according to her, "the first one is the only one worth owning."

Once Kelly returned with the food and the movie, they sat down and began to watch it. Lena was thankful that the fourth movie started with flashbacks from the first three, somewhat catching her up to speed on how they got from Mrs. Voorhees to Jason with his mask and machete. But Lena did have to admit, the bits she saw were a tad flimsy in terms of validity. Kara had a point on that one.

But she also had to admit that Jason was a much more threatening killer. Every time he committed a murder, she had to remind herself that these were merely props and fake blood. She'd seen them used in person on set before, had been covered in fake blood for a bit part in a vampire movie back when Twilight was the craze and setting the trend for shitty knock-off movies to follow. But that didn't make it any less cringy to watch.

And after a second movie of gore and mayhem, she was thankful when it was over. Yet after Kara took out the DVD and put it back in its case, the Danvers sisters had their attention back on her.

"So, what did you think?" Alex asked. "That one was better, right? Much better."

"Alex, don't pressure her," Kara said, crossing her arms over her chest. However, she looked to Lena expectantly. "But what did you think?"

Lena looked back and forth between them, smiling a little at how something as simple as a movie could be so important to them. It was endearing.

"I have come to a conclusion," Lena said, pausing to suck down the last of her bubble tea, chewing on a tapioca pearl slowly to build the anticipation. "You're… Both crazy."

"I agree!" Kelly said enthusiastically. She picked up the glasses of wine they'd set aside once the food arrived, handing Lena's to her and keeping her own held up for a toast. "Cheers to that."

Kara's and Alex's jaws dropped as their romantic partners clinked their glasses together. The sisters exchanged shocked looks before turning back to the other two women in amazement.

"I don't like this," Kara said.

"Me either," Alex said with a frown.

"Separately they're nice," Kara said, looking to Alex pointedly. "But together?"

"Mean." Alex said with a nod.

"We just sat through two terrible movies for you," Kelly said, rounding on Alex. "How is that mean?"

"You called us crazy," Alex responded.

"Actually, that was Lena," Kara said, pointing to the brunette in question.

"I agreed with her, though," Kelly said, smirking.

"See?" Alex said, shoving Kelly's shoulder playfully. "Mean."

"I'm in love with you, so I would argue that I'm just as crazy," Kelly said, reaching up and patting Alex's cheek affectionately.

Alex smiled at that, but then a mischievous glint came to her eye. "So what does that say about Lena?"

The brunette abruptly swallowed her mouthful of wine, eyes going wide as attention turned to her. "I don't really know," she said with a shrug. "But I probably have my fair share of crazy, too."

"Everyone does," Kelly said with a smirk. "That's the secret no one tells you. Everyone has their own issues, no matter how big or small. Some people just need help managing it more than others."

Alex smiled proudly and put a hand on Kelly's shoulder. "She's studying to be a therapist, in case you can't tell."

"Kara mentioned that," Lena said, recalling Kara saying something to that effect in her rambling earlier. "Must be an interesting field of study."

"It is," Kelly said, with a nod. "But speaking of studying—I have a test coming up, and we should probably get back to look over my notes a few times before bed."

"Last night she fell asleep cuddling her textbook." Alex said as they stood from the couch. "Good thing I'm not the jealous type."

Kelly hit her playfully on the shoulder as they made their way for the door, turning last second to say to Lena sweetly, "It was so great to meet you. We'll have to do this again sometime. Hopefully with some better movies."

"Speaking of." Kara grabbed the DVD case for the fourth movie and scurried over to hand it to Alex. "Here. Would hate for you to forget your shitty movie." Alex took it and smacked Kara over the head with it lightly, earning a howl of protest for the blonde. "Ow, bitch," she said crossly, rubbing the spot on her head. "I hope you broke your DVD."

"I didn't even hit you that hard," Alex said, rolling her eyes. "Besides, your head is really hard. You're fine."

"Okay, we're leaving," Kelly said quickly, yanking open the door and pushing her girlfriend outside before Kara could return fire. "Thank you for having us. Keep the wine."

Alex began to protest, "Wait, I want the red—"

"No, Kelly said keep it," Kara said, beginning to close the door. "Bye!"

Later, after they'd put away the wine, showered, and settled into bed, Lena felt an odd sense of peace. She wasn't used to playful fighting among siblings. She and her brother had an odd relationship. They were close when they were younger, but the older Lex got, the more withdrawn he became. But they'd never ribbed and pestered each other in the way Kara and Alex did. Yet it was obvious that none of it came out of a place of malice. On the contrary—Lena was certain that Kara and Alex were closer than she and Lex had ever been or could ever hope to be. Especially now that they hadn't even spoken in years.

Normally his absence didn't bother her, but something about watching Kara and Alex interact tonight made her miss him. Even if he wasn't going to be her best friend like it was apparent Alex was for Kara, he was still the closest member of her family she had left. Even without speaking to him for the span of time it had been, she still loved him more than Lillian. She didn't even know if what she felt for Lillian could be considered love. It was more like reluctant toleration when it came to the Luthor matriarch.

"Sorry Alex and I kind of hijacked the night," Kara commented, turning on her side to look at Lena. Her hair was still wet from the shower, darker than normal and dampening the pillow.

"It's fine," Lena said, smirking. She reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind Kara's ear then traced her fingers delicately across the blonde's cheek. "You two are actually pretty amusing together. It's kind of adorable to watch."

Kara chuckled a little. "I'm glad you think so." She gave a happy sigh, reaching out a hand and placing it on Lena's forearm, dragging her nails gently back and forth over her skin. "I can tell Alex likes you, though. Kelly too."

Lena smiled at that, her heart soaring unexpectedly. She didn't realize how much she needed that validation until she got it, and the moment she did, a happiness washed over her that was once again unfamiliar, yet welcome.

"I liked them, too," Lena admitted.

And she did. Kelly was kind, a good listener, and a seasoned referee between Kara and Alex. The red head was blunt, funny, and had an ease about her that was infectious. Lena wouldn't mind spending another night watching movies with them—of course, like Kelly had said, of a different genre.

Even after Kara turned off the light and simply kissed her goodnight, Lena's overall feeling of happiness didn't subside. That night had been freeing. She'd been able to snuggle into Kara's side at all the scary parts, not even batting an eyelash or glancing over at Kelly and Alex with worry when Kara pressed a comforting kiss to her temple. Being with Kara like that, with other people who made her feel safe and accepted, it was exhilarating. To feel that type of approval and affection was a joy she'd not known before.

A joy she didn't want to give up, one that she wanted to continue to feel. If that was what being out and open felt like, why had she been denying herself that for so long? The answer was easy: Lillian.

But suddenly her mother seemed like less of an obstacle—more of an annoyance than anything. She'd filled Lena's head with fears that coming out of the closet would lead to nothing but misery and torment. But she'd poked her head out, and now that the door was open, she didn't know if she could close it so easily again. More importantly, didn't think she wanted to.

Staying in the closet meant denying herself the pleasure she'd had that night. The pleasure of just being herself and not having to worry about every move she made or every word that came out of her mouth. That was something that now that she'd found, she wasn't ready to give up just yet.

This bliss she'd found with Kara, it was all encompassing. And as she lay there in Kara's arms, looking over the blonde's still features in the dark, her heart swelled in her chest. She wanted to go to sleep every night like this and wake up each morning to the same sight. And even after this show ended and took them to different projects, she wanted to know that at the end of a long day, she could look forward to seeing this face, seeing that smile, and kissing those lips.

I could be happy with this life, was the last coherent thought Lena had before her eyes finally closed and sleep started to take her under.

k here's your words, bye for now